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6 • June 2014 www.concreteproducts.com
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
AGENCIES
Under a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board, Fontana, Calif.-based
Commodity Trucking Acquisition LLC has entered a three-year collective bargain-
ing agreement with Teamsters Local 137, Redding, Calif., and will cover $262,000
in back pay for drivers at its Dispatch Transportation business, formerly Valley
Aggregate Transport Inc. in Yuba City, Calif.
The deal was reached shortly before an April hearing NLRB scheduled after ex-
amining union-alleged National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) violations, including repu-
diation/modifcation of contract plus refusal to recognize and bargain. Those actions
reportedly arose after Teamsters 137 was certifed as Valley Transport drivers' bargaining
representative in 2010, and ownership of the 100-plus vehicle feet transitioned to Com-
modity Trucking/Dispatch Transportation. NLRA requires new owners who hire a majority
of employees from a former owner's payroll to recognize and bargain with the existing
union. Teamsters 137 contended that Dispatch Transportation failed to hire certain long-
time Valley Transport drivers to avoid bargaining obligation.
"The employer made it clear that it was not interested in operating a unionized
facility and hired only a few of the predecessor's drivers. Thereafter, [it] refused to
recognize and bargain with the union," notes the NLRB. "After an investigation of a
charge fled by the union, NLRB Region 20 concluded that the employer would have
hired many more of the predecessor's drivers but for its desire to avoid a bargaining
obligation, and that its subsequent refusal to recognize and bargain with the union
was therefore unlawful."
After Region 20 issued a complaint, the parties entered into a Board settlement,
which in addition to the collective bargaining agreement and back pay provisions,
requires Commodity Trucking to restore the Valley Aggregate policy of recalling and dis-
patching drivers by seniority. According to Local 137, the three-year contract includes
a $20/hour wage rate, overtime and $3/hour Western Conference of Teamsters Pen-
sion Plan contribution versus a prior percentage of load pay scheme netting drivers
$11–$14/hour.
LIMITED DRIVER POOL STEERS AGGREGATE HAULER TO TEAMSTERS' TERMS
In a ruling on National Resources Defense Council v.
EPA, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
upholds major parts of an agreement the cement indus-
try and Environmental Protection Agency reached on the
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
(NESHAP), under which producers will invest heavily
in emissions treatment and controls equipment toward a
2016 compliance target.
"The compliance date reset is providing members
additional time needed to comply with the NESHAP
standards," Portland Cement Association notes. "Such
time is essential to properly complete the planning,
engineering, permitting, testing and construction of
the various new technologies that will be necessary to
implement the revised standards.
"EPA's revised cement NESHAP rule struck the right
balance in establishing compliance limits that, while still
extremely challenging, are realistic and achievable. … The
revised standards and compliance period are essential to
preserving jobs at domestic cement facilities, providing
direct support for an American manufacturing industry
that is critical to our nation's infrastructure. PCA supports
meeting the demand for portland cement through envi-
ronmentally and socially responsible business practices,
which have been implemented for decades by our member
companies in their local communities."
EPA cement plant emissions rule stands
Concrete Products June 2014.indd 6 5/30/2014 2:30:57 PM